World of Warships

World of Warships takes Wargaming's successful formula, known from the tank-based World of Tanks, out to sea, offering players battles between dozens of historic battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft carriers from the first half of the twentieth century, modeled after real vessels from around the world. Matches take place in teams on relatively small maps full of islands and narrow straits, where the player must consider their own ship's armor angle against the enemy, choice of ammunition, gun range, and when to reveal their position with an attack versus staying hidden behind a smokescreen while waiting for a more advantageous moment to strike.

The free-to-play model, with gradual unlocking and upgrading of ships using in-game and real-world resources, motivates players to progress through the tech tree across several naval powers, from Japan to the United States and Germany, with each nation's line of ships having its own characteristic playstyle, from precise but slower Japanese cruisers to durable American battleships. Clear, colorful graphics and fairly accessible controls allowed the game to reach a broad audience that might otherwise be intimidated by more complex historical simulators, without entirely abandoning respect for the historical accuracy of the vessels' designs. Regular updates brought new ships, maps, and game modes, keeping the player community active for many years after release, and the game remains among the longest continuously supported online titles of its genre to this day.

World of Warships became one of the most successful modern naval-themed games ever and introduced a wide generation of players to the subject of battleships and cruisers who might otherwise never have encountered the genre. It remains a living, regularly updated game with an active community to this day, and represents a completely different, more arcade-like approach to the subject than most other titles in this selection.

Why play it: For players who want battleships and cruisers in an accessible, arcade-style form with a lively, regularly updated online community, rather than a hardcore simulator.